Auburn and Florida State: BCS Championship Stats You Need To Know

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Auburn and Florida State wills do battle in Pasadena on Monday in the BCS' final championship game.

Auburn and Florida State: BCS Championship Stats You Need To Know

Florida State and Auburn will do battle in the 15th and final BCS National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 6, in Pasadena, Calif.

It marks the second trip to the BCS national title game for Auburn, both coming in the past four years. The berth for the Seminoles is their fourth trip to the championship game since the BCS’ inception in 1998, but just their first since losing to Oklahoma in 2000.

Florida State boasts Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and an elite, explosive balanced offense. Auburn enters with “Team of Destiny” headlines and a middle of the pack junior college quarterback recruit who has resurrected his career on The Plains. This bout has all the makings of an instant classic — despite what those in Las Vegas think — with star power both in the huddle and on the sidelines.

Can Auburn’s secondary hold up against that Noles' passing game? Can Florida State find a way to contain Gus Malzahn’s zone-read attack? All will be answered on Monday evening. But before that day comes, here are the facts and figures you need to know before the final BCS National Championship Game kicks off.

14: Florida State’s closest margin of victoryThe Seminoles crushed teams in 2013 by an average margin of victory of 42.3 points per game. Only once did the Noles allow more than 17 points in a game and only once did the opponent finish with 27 points against Florida State — both of those coming in a 48-34 win at Boston College. The closest second-half game FSU played all season was when those same Eagles kicked a field goal a few minutes into the second half to cut the lead to 24-20. Florida State then scored back-to-back touchdowns to push the lead to 38-20 with three minutes to go in the third quarter. The point is, Jameis Winston and this team haven’t face one critical fourth-quarter play, series or situation all season long. This has to help Auburn.

335.7: Auburn’s rushing yards per gameIn 2012, the Auburn Tigers ranked 118th nationally in total offense at 305.0 yards per game and were 80th nationally in rushing at 148.4 yards per game. In 2013, Gus Malzahn’s team averages more yards rushing (335.7) per game than it did in total offense last season. The Tigers led the nation in rushing and are third nationally in both yards per carry (6.5) and rushing touchdowns (46). Tre Mason led the SEC with 1,621 yards and quarterback Nick Marshall was eighth with 1,023 yards — more than Johnny Manziel or Todd Gurley. Florida State finished the year ranked 13th in rushing defense at 116.5 yards per game and led the nation with just five rushing touchdowns allowed all year. Mason and Marshall combined for 33.

103rd: National ranking for Auburn’s passing defenseJameis Winston is deadly accurate and has a host of elite weapons to target — wide receivers Rashad Greene and Kelvin Benjamin, tight end Nick O’Leary and running back Devonta Freeman out of the backfield. Auburn’s secondary has had major issues in 2013, allowing an SEC-worst 259.3 yards per game, which ranks 103rd nationally. The Tigers allowed 344 yards passing to Washington State, 272 to Arkansas State, 340 to Ole Miss, 469 to Texas A&M, 415 to Georgia, 277 to Alabama and 303 to Missouri. Good luck stopping the nation’s most efficient passing attack (178.28).

222.7: Average weight of Florida State’s linebackersAlabama’s four starting linebackers — Adrian Hubbard (252), Trey DePriest (245), C.J. Mosley (238) and Xzavier Dickson (265) — combine to weigh 1,000 pounds at 250.0 pounds per player. Mosley is the smallest at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds. Florida State’s starting trio is dramatically smaller and will be asked to stop Malzahn’s relentless zone-read. Christian Jones (6-4, 235), Terrance Smith (6-4, 215) and Telvin Smith (6-3, 218) combine to average nearly 30 pounds less per player (222.7 pounds) than Alabama's linebacking corps. And the Noles' defensive line isn’t one of the bigger units either with Nile Lawrence-Stample the largest at 6-foot-1 and 305 pounds. How this unit holds up against Auburn’s rushing attack remains to be seen.

29.0: Sacks allowed this year by Florida StateThe Seminoles have allowed 29.0 sacks this season, ranking 87th nationally and 10th in the ACC. Auburn was third in the SEC in getting after the quarterback with 28.0 QB takedowns. The Tigers got to Missouri 3.0 times in the SEC title game but failed to get to AJ McCarron (1.0) or Aaron Murray (1.0) in their two previous games that, frankly, Auburn was very lucky to win. Comparatively, Auburn ranked 18th nationally and third in the SEC with just 16.0 sacks allowed. Some of that are the two totally different offensive styles each team plays, but if Auburn can pressure Jameis Winston into a few mistakes, it could be the difference in the game.

1.31: Florida State’s No. 2-ranked turnover marginThe Noles finished third nationally with 34 turnovers created while only giving the ball away 17 times this fall. The Tigers, who ranked 114th nationally in 2012 with just 13 takeaways, didn’t fare much better this fall, ranking 95th nationally with just 18 turnovers forced all season. Auburn finished dead even in the turnover battle this season with 18 giveaways and 18 takeaways. Florida State has a distinct advantage in the turnover game heading into this bout with Auburn and few stats in the box score indicate victory more so than turnovers.

7.81 and 7.03: Florida State and Auburn yards per play on offenseFlorida State led the nation with 7.81 yards per play on 881 offensive snaps. Auburn was seventh nationally and one of only seven teams to average over 7.0 yards per play with 7.03 yards per snap on 934 offensive plays. Florida State (2012 and '13) is the only ACC team to reach the 7.0 level of efficiency since 2007. During that same span, only six SEC teams had reached the 7.0 yards per play benchmark before this season and two of those — Florida in 2008 and Auburn in '10 — went on to win the national title. When both offenses get rolling they can be impossible to stop, so common logic would indicate high-scoring and big numbers.

6: Nation’s longest active bowl winning streakIt is fitting that either Auburn or Florida State will tie Ole Miss for the nation's longest active bowl winning streak on Monday night. The Rebels topped Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, moving their streak to six — their lost postseason loss coming in the 2000 Music City Bowl. The winner of the final BCS National Championship Game will likewise push their bowl winning streak to six straight postseason wins. A fitting footnote for a game of this magnitude and intrigue.

7: Consecutive times the SEC has covered the spread in BCS title gamesYes, we all know about the seven straight national titles by the SEC. But did you know that the SEC has covered the spread in all seven of those games as well? Alabama was the biggest favorite of the bunch as a 10-point pick to beat Notre Dame last year and handled that feat with ease. Auburn is an 8-point underdog, joining only Florida in 2006 (+7) and Auburn in '10 (+1) as SEC underdogs to another conference in the national title game (LSU was a slight underdog to Alabama).

Jan. 6: Jameis Winston's birthdayYes, every one knows that the final BCS national title game is on Monday, Jan. 6. But did you know that the youngest Heisman Trophy winner in history will turn 20 on the very same day? Winston was born Jan. 6, 1994 (yeah, how old do you feel now?). Emotion is such a huge part of the college game but will it help or hurt Winston that he is trying to win a national championship on his birthday?

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